


in other words

by wayverse (pseudotopia)



Category: NCT (Band), WAYV
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, College Students NCT, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Fluff and Angst, Las Vegas, M/M, Nevada, i think this is a neat fic but i am horible at tagging.. oh what to do, markhei, perhaps thats not entirely true .. im not sure i guess you will have 2 read and find out
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-10
Updated: 2020-12-10
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:27:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,941
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27990732
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pseudotopia/pseuds/wayverse
Summary: It takes Yukhei a long time to come to terms with his feelings.
Relationships: Mark Lee/Wong Yuk Hei | Lucas, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 34
Collections: NCT Bigbang Round 1





	in other words

**Author's Note:**

> For NBB Round 1! 
> 
> i literally don’t know how to write without incorporating unhealthily large amounts of dialogue but i really tried this time, so i hope you'll forgive me bc I'm sure there are times u wish they just like shut up. and i describe a cloud or something but they don’t and i also don't do that ahah. 
> 
> the absolute BIGGEST thanks to my artist, bwa for going above and beyond in helping me out with this fic. you were my sole motivator and without you this fic may have never seen the light of day (seriously). thank you so much for all your kind words and continuous support, and thank you for the amazing art. you captured lumark perfectly and i'm really grateful to have worked alongside you during this process ♡

When he’d left for New York to attend college, Yukhei had made the only promise he’s broken (though his friends would say he’s broken countless of promises before). Being tied up in his studies wasn’t how he’d pictured it either, however, but his family and friends had sent him heartwarming and ecstatic responses to his news of coming home. His first trip back in three years.

He gets off the plane and claims his baggage as fast as he can, itching to finally be free from the chains of airport confinements. The hot, still, Nevadan air fills his lungs, and the sunlight that’s always been too harsh makes his skin tingle as he searches through the rows of cars and buses lined on the street.

It doesn’t take long for him to spot a familiar face, and then he’s faced with the reality that he’s finally home. “YUKHEI!! WE’RE HERE!! YOU’RE HERE!!”, Chenle jumps in his spot enthusiastically waving at the other from beside a car.

Yukhei reciprocates his energy and runs straight to him, “I’M HERE LELE!! YOU’RE HERE TOO!!”

Chenle wraps him in a hug and then lightly smacks his head, “Congrats on making it Mr.‘I swear I’ll visit every break’, Mama and Baba are just bringing the car up.”

“Thanks for coming to see me, I missed you guys”, Yukhei says softly.

“We missed you too—Oh, just wait till you see what’s at home!”, Chenle enthuses.

“Chenle! You’re ruining the surprise!”, Jaemin walks up to the other two.

“Jaemin, you made it!”, Yukhei smiles, hugging the other tightly.

“Of course, I did!” Jaemin laughs, “You go meet your parents and we can head home together, I’ll grab your bags.”

Yukhei nods and heads way to his parents who, much like Jaemin and Chenle, greet him with a tight embrace. They tease him about having grown easily three feet taller (he didn’t) and Yukhei has to pry them off to get them to stop pinching his cheeks and hair. 

“Mama I’m twenty-three, please this is so embarrassing!”, he whines.

“I haven’t seen you in three years, and you think I’m doing too much? I’ve made all of your favorite foods at home, don’t get whiny or I will throw them out”, she emptily threatens him and ruffles his hair before heading for the car.

“How is it, the big ‘NY’?”, Chenle asks as soon as they’re belted.

“Chenle, he must be tired from his flight. At least ask after we get home”, their dad waves down Chenle’s question.

“It’s a harmless question, and besides the flight was only five hours. I’m sure he slept through all of it,” Chenle sticks out his tongue.

“NYU isn’t bad,” Yukhei answers, “I’ve made a lot of friends, you guys would like them.”

“Tell us about them!”, his mom asks from the passenger seat.

“Uh.. there’s five of us. Kun, Ten, Sicheng and Hendery. You remember Ten, right?”

“Of course, we do! We miss Ten too.. why didn’t you bring him with you?”, his dad scolds him.

“Are you serious.. I’m your son and you’re asking for Ten-ge?”, Yukhei gasps exaggeratedly.

He shrugs from the driver seat and laughs, “We haven’t seen him for longer than we haven’t seen you, of course we’re going to be worried about him.”

Yukhei sighs in defeat, “I’ll bring him with me next time, does that make you feel better?”

“Much. We’re here, now get to unloading.”

Busy passing around the luggage and messily tossed carry-on, Yukhei takes his bags out and looks up at his house. If the house had aged while he’d been away, there were no signs of it. Twenty years later and it was the same, as if his parents put a spell on the house to give it eternal life. The only difference he could spot 

was the addition of some small shrubbery, flowers and vegetables. Yukhei walks up to the flowers and turns back to the others, “Hey Chenle, do you think Dad’s true calling was gardening?”

Chenle nods, “And without me, he might’ve never done it,” Chenle argues.

“I can’t argue with that, he sure has kept me busy,” their father marvels at his garden and leads the boys to the house. 

Upon entering, Yukhei is startled by cheers of, “SURPRISE!” in unison as confetti explodes around the family.

Yukhei stands shocked at the sight of friends and family in front of him, “Wha—”.

Doyoung greets him with a slap on his back, “Welcome back, we missed you!”

“Took you long enough,” he hears Jaehyun’s laugh.

Yukhei begins, “Yeah about that—”.

He’s greeted with another scream and spots Donghyuck pushing through the crowd to reach him, “Do you know how long it’s been? You better have a good explanation, you—you ditcher.”

“Hey, I didn’t ditch anyone! You’re the one who told me I should go!”, Yukhei defends.

“Mhmm..”

He floats around his house, drowned in praises and ‘We missed you’s’ by the countless aunts and uncles he couldn’t have recognized even a measly three years ago. He’s finally able to set his carry-on to a side and take a seat at the kitchen island. Jaehyun comes around, offering him a drink before pushing him into a new 

crowd of people to meet. Yukhei glares back at him as Jaehyun tips an imaginary hat back and pulls himself away from the others.

“Hey ge-ge, Jisung said you didn’t say hi to him, what gives?”, Chenle pulls him from the crowd, feet tapping impatiently.

“Hm? I must’ve not seen him, sorry Lele.” 

Chenle smiles wide and immediately pulls an unfamiliar boy next to him. Jisung waves shyly, voice deeper than Yukhei had remembered. He introduces himself, “Hi hyung, we missed you a lot! Especially Chenle.”

Chenle swats his arm and shakes his head in denial.

“Jisung?? Wow, you’ve grown so much”, Yukhei pinches his cheeks and laughs, “I missed you all a lot too.”

“Looks like I’m still not there yet,” he giggles, moving his hand from Yukhei’s forehead to his own to compare their heights. Jisung was right.

“Oh? I’m honored.. But you won’t be able to beat me,” he laughs, ruffling the younger’s hair.

. . . .

“Did you have a good time tonight?”, his mom asks, taking a seat at the island.

“I did! Thanks, you guys,” Yukhei beams. If the flight didn’t tire him out, the welcoming party definitely had. 

“Hey Baba, Mark didn’t end up coming did he? Did you ask him why?” Chenle asks from the kitchen.

“Yeah, Mr. and Mrs. Lee were busy with helping him in the remodeling—That reminds me, you should go down there and help them, Yukhei. They already know you’re here and I’m sure they would love the help.”

“Are you giving me up for free labor the day I come back?”, Yukhei groaned.

“Shush, I know you want to go down there anyway. I’m not forcing you to start tomorrow, you can take your time and relax too.”

“Why does everyone keep forgetting his flight was not even a whole five hours?”, Chenle yells back.

Chenle sticks out his tongue from where he’s standing, perfectly across Yukhei, who gives him a thumbs down in return. Their father continues, “He’s right; You’d better go soon since they couldn’t make it.”

Yukhei nods to reassure him, “I swear I’ll go!”

After accepting his promise, his parents trail to bed, leaving behind Yukhei and Chenle to spend the night catching up.

“It’s been three years gege, do you know what you’re going to say to them?”, Chenle asks.

“What do you mean? I saw everyone I needed to see today.. I don’t think anyone needs more of an explanation,” Yukhei answers.

“I’m talking about Mark hyung! Did you forget you didn’t even tell him— or anyone else for that matter about your decision until move-in week?”, he fusses.

Yukhei’s voice cracks, “Of course I remember, why would you make me remember that?! I have to meet Mark tomorrow,” he grabs a pillow from the sofa and covers his head with it, muffling his voice, “All I do is think about that.. it’s only been three years though; it can’t be that big of a deal.”

Chenle snorts, “Oh god gege. _Of course,_ it’s a big deal.”

. . . .

Even early in the morning, Chenle’s words pick at Yukhei until he sees him at the breakfast table and tells him to shut up. Their mother sends a concerned glance at the younger, but he simply shrugs, grabbing an apple and heading out the door. Likely heading to Jisung’s. She turns her attention to Yukhei who shakes her off, 

“It’s nothing.”

He’s unable to go back to bed no matter how hard he tries, determining the forces of the universe must _really_ want him to meet Mark Lee today, elsewise he’d never get a good night’s rest again. He struggles out of bed but eventually makes it out the door by noon. His mom hands him a bag of fresh food as he heads out, because everyone knows it's bad manners to greet someone without gifts.

The way to is muscle memory, and he has no time reaching the doors of the Lee’s pizzeria soon after leaving. He pushes the discomforting feeling in his stomach further and pushes through the door. As soon as the bells chime, he spots Yeri in the front, mouth ajar. 

She runs to the back and brings around Mrs.Lee, “You wouldn’t believe it, He’s finally back!”

“Yukhei! It’s so good to see you,” Mrs.Lee brings him in for a hug and pats his arm. “How does the place look?”

“Amazing,” Yukhei tells her honestly, “Almost unrecognizable aside from the sign outside.”

The three of them chat excitedly, until Yeri has to ring up the lunch rush and Mrs.Lee has to begin preparing orders. She apologizes that Mark isn’t in today, but lets him know he’ll be back tomorrow if he wants to try again. Yeri offers him a position, “You’ll be able to see him _alll_ the time~”, which Yukhei turns down until Mrs.Lee overhears and does the same. Reluctant to disappoint, he agrees to start whenever he swings by again.

Even Yukhei had thought he’d swing by sooner, but he’s kept busy with an assortment of things once he returns home, and no sooner has it already been a week since. It’s long enough time to settle in and he’s certain he’s ready to finally head into town. Jungwoo and Donghyuck told him to give them a call when he’s finally ready to go out but there’s no way it can hurt to do some re-exploring himself first—especially when he had passed the places on his first visit. He enters the garage in search of his bike, finding it in the corner covered with a sheet. If it was meant to protect it from bugs and dust, the rust forming on the chains and multiple cobwebs said otherwise. Walking it is.

Yukhei realizes just how much he had forgotten about home in the short time he was gone—How much he’d missed; A big city does that to you, he thinks. Getting this much sun or having to search for places to rush into when it’s raining was something he didn’t have to worry about with tall skyscrapers looming over him every morning. That there was no need for an aspirin every morning to deal with the bustling city, because the chirps of birds and soft wind were remedy enough. 

Or maybe it was the difference that because he didn’t know anyone in the city, he’d forgotten that stopping by every store to greet others was an expectation, not courtesy. It’s everyone he’s already seen, but they excitedly invite him in to show-off their renovations and new services. He only reaches the other end of the block by noon, and by then Donghyuck has made it to his side through everyone’s posts about his whereabouts.

“I only asked you to tell me one thing, but I still had to find out where you were today all by myself,” he complains.

“You’re here now, right? I still haven’t made it to Mark’s yet, so I have a bit to go”, Yukhei fills him in on the happenings on his previous stops as they head to the pizzeria.

“Is it a good idea for me to be there too?”, he asks.

Yukhei shrugs, “I don’t know, he wasn’t in last time...haven’t you kept in touch with him? I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

Donghyuck nods, though he knows Yukhei is silently begging him to stay so it’s not as awkward.

They stroll past their high school and it takes a lot to convince Donghyuck not to drag him inside, considering that for as long as he’s remembered, he hated high school more than anyone else Yukhei knew.

“Why not? Mr.Peters misses his star athlete,” Donghyuck pouts.

“Does he still think I want to play professionally or something?”

He nods, “Well you did move to New York. And it’s the height, otherwise I’d be able to show him I could beat your ass any day.” 

“Mhm, Ten-ge says the same.”

“And he’s right. I bet any of them could beat you.”

“Even the pets?”

“You have— _had_ pets?”, Donghyuck pauses in his tracks.

“You said that as if I killed them. But yeah, three of them: Louis, Leon and Bella.”

He shrugs, “I wouldn’t put it past you to accidentally forget about them too,” Yukhei fears that he means it, but his expression is playful, and he continues, “When was the last time we walked down this way though, seriously?”

He shrugs, thinking back to the last week he had spent on this block before he had to take a flight across the country without having told any of his friends. It was particularly overcast in the last week of July, almost making Yukhei believe it was a sign that he shouldn’t move. They’d gone down to grab Mark and fresh boxes of pizza to kickstart their final all-nighter as high schoolers.

“Over here!”, Mark greets the others behind the counter, boxes of pizza and cans of soda set on the counter already. 

“You’re sure your mom doesn’t need help closing for tonight?”, Yukhei asks, waving to Mrs.Lee as she heads to the back. The others divvy up which foods and supplies to carry back home.

“She’s fine, besides this place will be mine soon and then you’ll be asking _me_ that question. Which, the answer will be ‘yes’ to. You better be here to help me close up, by the way.”, Mark laughs, sliding the boxes to Yukhei. Mark passes through the swing doors and they make their way home. 

“You think we should visit school one last time?”, Renjun comments as they pass the building.

Jeno gags, “And get yelled at by Principal Monroe for a final time to ‘stop wandering the halls after hours’? No thanks.”

“Wouldn’t be a bad idea, Yukhei can finally tell Mr.Peter’s he’s going to be a hotshot in business, not basketball.”

“That’s being told to people on a need-to-know basis, the man will have to let it go on his own,” Yukhei rolls his eyes. 

Jaemin invites them in, games, pillows and blankets already set up in front of his TV. “I was starting to think you’d all gotten lost.”

They vote on a movie to watch, and somehow (Jeno is dating Jaemin, that’s how) _Veronica_ wins. None of them are particularly fond of horror movies, but they don’t argue—Until halfway through when even Jaemin thinks it’s too much and offers they play a simple game of monopoly instead.

They team up and huddle around the board, still too afraid to go anywhere outside of 5 feet from the next person and play until Jeno and Renjun get accused of cheating, _again._ It’s surprising they’re still trusted as the banker in each game when they’ve ended in the same argument every time for the last 6 years of their 

friendship. They declare Donghyuck the winner and take a stab to finish the rest of the movie. Too afraid (or already knocked out) to move by the end, they fall asleep huddled together on Jaemin’s sectional sofa. 

Yukhei is gone the next morning, announcing his plans in a note on the kitchen counter. He asks them to come over to his to help pack before he’s gone next week. Mark is the first to storm out, wordlessly, with both fists clenched and tears brimming his eyes. He doesn't contact Yukhei after that.

Donghyuck pulls at Yukhei’s sleeve, and when he doesn’t respond, he pulls again, harder, then hisses, “Pay attention! We’re here, quick Mark’s coming out right now. Say something first so you don’t look like an asshole.”

He scratches his head, frantically searching through his brain for the speech he prepared last night after (yet another one of) Chenle’s scares, “What do I do? I don’t remember what I wanted to say!”

“What?!”

“I didn’t get to rehear—”

Donghyuck elbows him to shut up and sweetly calls out for the boy who’s struggling to squeeze through the door, “Markie~ Hey!” 

“Uh, hey Donghyuck. Yukhei.” Mark acknowledges them, startled. He waves with his free hand, four steaming boxes of pizza in the other. 

“Hey! Mark. Where are you headed to?”, Yukhei cringes at the question that comes out. To deliver pizza, duh, his brain supplies. He can hear Donghyuck’s hand hit his forehead as he facepalms himself.

“Making a delivery,” he showcases the boxes of pizza, “When did you get into town?”

“Maybe a week ago?—I stopped by earlier but you weren’t in..”

“Oh, yeah I heard about that from Yeri. Don’t worry about it,” Mark smiles weakly, “Anyway, I need to take care of these.. I’ll see you around?”

“I.. yeah, I’ll see you around then,” Yukhei pulls the door open so Mark can get through with ease. He gives the taller a curt thanks and rushes to the motorcycle for the deliveries.

Yukhei doesn’t want to admit that the interaction was awkward but Donghyuck is all for analyzing so as soon as he’s sure Mark has turned right at the streetlight out of earshot he starts, “Yikes.. Maybe I should’ve bought a knife—no, even that couldn’t cut the tension here”.

“Was it that bad?”

“So bad,” he pats his back as they enter the store.

He walks up to the counter and asks for Mr. and Mrs.Lee, who no sooner than a minute are giddy from joy to see the two.

“I was wondering when you’d finally show up around here again”, Mr.Lee smiles.

Mrs. Lee comes from the back, “Thankfully you’re just in time. I made a pizza I was going to have Mark send over to your house, but no need to worry about that now.”

“None for me?”, Donghyuck pouts.

“Sorry Donghyuck.. you can share?”

He shakes his head, “I’ll just order two to take home, he’ll finish this here anyway.”

He did his best to share but it couldn’t be helped—no one could blame Yukhei either— the whole town swears the Lee family has perfected the recipe for pizza. 

They chat over their food and smoothies as the sun sets, and finally Mark returns from his deliveries. He nods towards his parents and then the other two, and if Yukhei wasn’t watching him close enough, he wouldn’t have noticed how he froze in place when spotting Yukhei again before heading to drop the bag off in the back. 

Mark returns reluctantly after Mrs.Lee runs back because ‘The pizza’s getting cold’. He sits for a slice of pizza before excusing himself on account of, “Not feeling too well.”

“Already? We don’t even close until later, let me check your temperature”, she gets up to search for the first aid kit.

Donghyuck places his hand on Mark’s forehead, “He’s lying~~”. Mark swats his hand away and glares at him as he starts to stand.

“Do you want me to close?”, Yukhei asks, almost instinctively. He’d been the one to cover for Mark when he had a test to cram for, projects he didn’t finish or just simply wanted to go home. He wonders if anyone covered for him while Yukhei couldn’t.

Mrs.Lee reappears with the thermometer and shakes her head, “I don’t think making you close up on your first day is ideal.”

He insists, “It’s alright, I’m sure I remember the routine from before, you can just leave the key here..”

Mark’s face is unreadable, but he nods silently and whispers a small thanks, dropping the keys onto the table before taking off his apron and heading out back. His parents thank him and help as much as Yukhei lets them (not a lot), and then they’re on their way home too.

“You’re not getting rid of me, let’s see just how much you remember,” Donghyuck grabs a lollipop off the counter and seats himself on a barstool.

“Oh come on, it wasn’t that hard.”

Yukhei couldn’t have been more off; Maybe insisting that he can close himself and sending them home wasn’t a great idea. He worked on and off while in New York but he was the type to pull all nighters studying, not closing up shop, so he only finished locking the store with the help of Donghyuck, who ruthlessly teased him about being /so/ sure about remembering how to do so. Some things were the same, with the occasional tourists trying to get in their final orders just ten minutes before closing, long after their ovens were turned off and toppings had been packed. Donghyuck shoos them away and splits up their cleaning duty in two parts; Yukhei is tasked to take care of the front.

  
  


Mark used to blast music as they cleaned to ignore any customers from coming in after closing. Yukhei told him it was bad for business but Mark insisted that if they can’t read, he shouldn’t have to listen; he’d grab a rag and start wiping down the windows, making faces at anyone who insisted they should be allowed a pizza at 11:58 if they close at 12:00. Yukhei laughs at the sight, joining him with a rag of his own but to clean the counters, crossing his arms to make an X when the person would move from trying to convince Mark to take their order. 

If the store window and the website and the menu say their ovens are turned off at 11:30, then they are off at 11:30! 

“What are you looking at?”, Mark throws the rag back at Yukhei, who tries to catch it as he zones back in. It plops on to the floor and Mark walks back to pick it up with a sigh.

“Don’t you feel even a little bit bad that you have to turn them away?”, Yukhei hands it to Mark.

“They should feel bad for trying to make high schoolers make them pizzas at 12 am! We have class tomorrow; can’t their cravings wait for a night?”

Yukhei shrugs, “If you shut me out like that I’d cry.”

“You’re so dramatic,” Mark dusts and folds his apron, “I would make an exception for you, you know.”

  
  


He calls up Ten as he locks the front door and Donghyuck checks the back a final time. 

“It’s late,” Ten groans.

Yukhei ignores him and gives a short recap—all of his morning starting from visiting the others in town, getting caught by Donghyuck, the run-in with Mark’s family and how that led to him closing for the night—maybe a long recap, which was cut off by Donghyuck multiple times because, “He doesn’t know how to tell a story.” Yukhei sighs, slowing his pace as they walk down the empty streets, “There’s nothing I can do, hm?”

Ten groans, and though he can’t see it, Yukhei is sure the other is running his hands through his hair in frustration as he continues, “What? No, you just don’t know a good opportunity when it’s hit you with a brick. You ran away from your problems once and you’re only calling me to try and do it again. I love you but I don’t want to keep watching you make each other suffer.”

Donghyuck snickers beside him, and Yukhei shoos him away aggressively before sighing. “Right. Well that was it, I guess. Night hyung.”

“Night hyung!”, Donghyuck yells before he’s hung up the phone. Then a punch to Yukhei’s arm, “told you so.”

. . . .

He thinks he’ll enjoy working again, despite how hard he had found sticking to a job while studying. He takes his time on his bike— which he’d worked on restoring the entire weekend—stopping by the lake and helping Jungwoo bring in the fresh order of flowers. 

It’s given him a lot of time to think, this slower pace of life. He had the same friends all his life because of the size of their town, a suburban neighborhood that seemed almost rural to someone who’d spent the past few years in the heart of a booming city, waking up from the honks of cars and the sound of trains as they whooshed past his shared apartment. Home might not have been his first choice in a list of places to grow up, what with the little opportunity to network and even less school funds to even try to visit someplace else, but they made it work. They were all close, though he had known Ten and Jaemin since he was born. 

Donghyuck, Renjun and Mark—even Jeno and Jungwoo, who he found intimidating at first were all close.

They used to hang out all the time, but Yukhei itched for summertime. It was _their_ time. Mark and Yukhei. Yukhei and Mark. And sometimes Mark, Yukhei and their families and friends. But the two of them together? They had their own little world and spent all their free time together. He doesn’t know when things went so awry. 

Since he’s still technically new, Yeri has him watch as they perform their daily operations until he’s allowed time to sit with the others and relax. 

The bell chimes at the front, alerting Yukhei that someone's come in. He drags his feet to the front slowly, they're closed for a lunch break, can't they read that?

"Hey babe, me and my friends were going to watch the game tonight, do you think you could whip us up some pizza? I can help this time!", he hears a voice tell Mark excitedly.

A familiar voice to him, Yukhei assumes, after hearing the giggle that comes from Mark. Seeing the peck Mark gives said voice. A sort of awkward noise slips from Yukhei's mouth with no warning, and he slaps his mouth to stop it from being heard.

Mark's head whips around and he awkwardly shifts his gaze from Yukhei's to avoid having to make introductions. So much for it not being audible.

"Oh, is this your friend? I don't think we've met, I'm Xiaojun!", the voice--Xiaojun perks up and waves to Yukhei.

Yukhei nods politely, throat suddenly dry. “Yukhei. It’s nice to meet you.” 

Xiaojun seems to take no note of the suddenly awkward atmosphere, continuing loudly, “Anyway, let me know when it’s ready, okay? I’ll be waiting~ ” He bends over the counter and Mark grins, “Alright, see you soon.”

Mark returns to his work, seriously crafting the order Xiaojun had just requested. He doesn’t go past putting an effort in for coworker politeness, silently eyeing the other to make sure he’s kneading the dough just well enough, flattening it out and perfectly timing its cooking time in the masonry oven. He tries to hold in his laughter when he sees him failing to even get the first step right. 

“Need a hand?”, Mark walks up to him and grabs a ball of dough. It’s nothing he wouldn’t do for any of the other workers, but Yukhei feels embarrassed. “We’ll split the dough you just cut, flour your counter and then we can start shaping.”

Mark begins demonstrating, swiftly stretching his dough, grabbing the edges and working his way around it, working closer to the edge as he perfects the shape—letting the dough rest on his arms to not let it thin out too much or tear. He turns to the counter on their left and grabs the peel, flouring it evenly to place the pizza on it. He asks Yukhei to pass him a ladle and spreads the sauce on the dough, careful in distributing it across the pizza so there’s no one place with too little or too much. He sprinkles the cheese—then looks back up to be sure he’s still being watched through the demonstration—and grabs some toppings to do the same. His palms wrap around the other end of the peel and he slides the pizza into the oven smoothly and finally, Mark smiles, pleased with his own creation.

Yukhei realizes he’s been staring too long and doing too little when Mark clears his throat, “What, did you really forget how to do this?”

“People in New York made me the pizza, not the other way around, so yeah”, he shrugs defensively.

“Did you forget all of it, then?”

“What?”, Yukhei looks up from his now shaped dough.

Mark shakes his head and points at the others’ dough, “Nothing. You should keep practicing today since we’ll be open late.”

He grabs a round peel to turn and pull the pizza out, leaving it to cool as he heads back to the register to check for any new orders.

Yukhei’s sure he didn’t say anything funny, or that anyone is still out front but when Mark returns with a pizza cutter, there’s a newfound grin plastered on his face, “And that’s how you make a Neapolitan.” 

. . . . 

He receives a text from Yeri to come in casual clothes on a sunny day in July. Her text reads, ‘Mark has costumes for us :) Don’t wear anything u were planning to show off today!’

He sends back a ‘?’ but gets no response by the time he’s headed out the door. He doesn’t have any flashy clothes anyway, so he’s sporting his oldest pair of jeans and a simple black tee instead of his uniform. 

Yeri waves at him, excitedly pulling him in and to the back with the others. “Guess who made it!”

“Good, you have to dress as a superhero for today. We’re going to hold our drive-in-theater this month for a Marvel movie. Pick a character and we can get started,” Mark points at the capes laid out in the break room for everyone to choose from.

“..Oh, you’re serious?”, he looks at his coworkers, who seem to not be getting why Yukhei wouldn’t want to dress up.

“Super serious! Just pick one, you’re making it sound like we’re committing a crime,” Yeri rolls her eyes, moving up to grab a Ms.Marvel mask and cape.

“She’s right. Besides, you used to be fine with it when we used to—”, Mark shakes his head and points, “Yukhei just pick a character and we can open—Here take 

Batman’s cape you don’t have to wear the mask.”

“I’m _just_ saying it’d make sense if we were doing this for Halloween, not the screening of a movie—which by the way, Batman isn’t even a Marvel character, Mark.”

Mark pushes him out of the room, cape and mask in hand, “Thanks for the suggestion. Now, don’t come back unless you’re changed.”

  
  


Mark and Yukhei had always dressed in pairs for Halloween. They’d have two outfits planned for every year and had gone as every pair imaginable. One for the school day, and the other for when they’d go out trick-or-treating after. At 9 years old, there isn’t much else to do besides plan for Halloween, and it was like Mark could never run out of costume ideas; he shoves a notebook in front of Yukhei when they’re counting their candies on his bed. 

“Is it my turn to choose? Can we do men in black next year?”, Yukhei scribbles the name down before Mark snatches it back.

“Neither of us have suits.”

“Good thing we have a whole year to get some then.”

“Hm.. Okay, and for actually trick or treating?”

“Mmm.. How about Batman and Robin Hood?”

“We’ve done that before, pass.” Mark scribbles in the book anyway.

“I don’t think anyone beside you remembers that.”

“How about the Power Ranger’s? That way we can match with everyone else too.”

Yukhei thinks about it but shakes his head, “No, I like it when just our costumes match though.”

Mark rolls his eyes and grabs one of Yukhei’s candies, “Then you’d be more helpful if you could think of something.”

“Team Rocket!”, Yukhei grins, pushing all the red licorice he’d collected on Mark’s side.

Mark nods and writes it down, “That was quick.” He sets down the notebook and starts counting his own candies.

When the next Halloween comes, Mark decides to go as Spiderman for the whole day instead, “When I win the competition I’ll make it up to you, promise!” Yukhei >ends up going as one of the Men in Black instead, matching with Jaemin. Everyone who hands them treats is fascinated by the two nine-year-olds in a suit and tie for Halloween but Yukhei can’t help to shake the feeling that it should be Mark that he should be trick-or-treating in this outfit with, and Mark that he should be getting compliments with. When the rest of the boys dump out their candies to trade at the end of the night, Mark pulls Yukhei aside and excitedly displays a pair of arcade passes. Long after they should be in bed, Mark and Yukhei are climbing down Mark’s window to the arcade, where they spend the rest of their night stuffing chocolates and playing on machines.

  
  


It’s a busy day for the pizzeria and Mark turns out to be right, loads of customers enjoy the capes and they even get some passersby to stay the evening for the screening. They close inside at 6 to prepare food for the drive-in event. Yukhei’s technique is, in the words of Mark, “Just not how we do it”, so he’s stuck helping 

set up outside with the others. Jungwoo helps him set up the table for refreshments.

He hands him one end of the tablecloth and smooths it down. 

“He’s late again,” Mark mutters, looking down at his watch in disappointment.

“Who?”

“I asked Xiaojun to stop by the event but he’s still not here,” Mark shakes his head, “He only shows up to save face in front of the others.”

“I’m sure he’s on his way,” Yukhei offers, doing his best to ignore the thoughts in his head. 

Mark sighs, discontented. He shuffles to the back until he’s found his phone, which he quickly unlocks and begins furiously typing a response on before sighing and deleting it. His shoulders fall, and he goes back to doing his work instead.

Yukhei isn’t sure why he's actually trying to help—since his most recent texts to Donghyuck are an increasingly long evaluation on whether Xiaojun is the right >match for Mark (which, he _knows_ is not his place, but it's not a crime to have an opinion!)—but he asks Yeri to force Mark to take a break while the rest of them take care of hosting.

  
  


The event’s more of a hit than he’d expected, though Yukhei supposes it’s only such to him, because this is probably exactly what everyone else expected. Once it’s over, Mark thanks the staff and dismisses them.

Jungwoo high-fives Mark at another event well-executed and Renjun, Jeno and Jaemin appear to help themselves to any of the leftovers. Mark swats their hungry hands away, “No food for anyone until we’re done cleaning.”

“But it’ll be cold,” Jeno pouts.

“Then we should get started,” Mark grins.

People are still lounging about once they’re done, but no one seems bothered so Yukhei supposes it alright. They grab food and connect a few tables to share.

“Mm, this might’ve come up to my top five marvel movies,” Yukhei hears Jungwoo announce when he brings his plate to the table. Somewhere in between the movie >ending and their finishing cleaning, Donghyuck returns.

“Okay, but higher than Winter Soldier?”, Donghyuck asks.

Jungwoo nods and the others gasp at once, “Oh my god Mark, you’ve made his views all skewed with your love for Spider-Man! Switch him back,” Jaemin pokes Jungwoo’s cheeks.

“I did nothing! It’s not my fault it’s a good movie.”

“No.. you think so too, don’t you?”, Yukhei gasps.

Mark rolls his eyes, “Overdramatic. Every single one of you.”

. . . .

Despite his efforts, not much seems to change after the event.

It’s not that Yukhei doesn’t see or feel the tension still lingering between the two. Mark’s distanced himself more in fact—he still comes in earlier to avoid walking in together, wordlessly places orders for Yukhei on the deli tag, and Yukhei only makes his presence known when ringing the bell to send an order out—but he’s never been confrontational, and this seems like a situation in which he’d need to be such. Which he can’t. So, he starts to instead recount stories from his time in New York in efforts to rebreak the ice. 

They bake a final pizza before closing to share and take a seat in front of the counter. He takes a slice and blows on it to cool down, “You know, I tried my hand at a pizzeria when I moved. Their pizzas were pretty good too, but I didn’t have the same ability to keep up with the demand, you know? New Yorkers like their pizza and they like it _fast_ It’s where I met one of my roommates though, Hendery. Ten-ge suggested I should try getting a job like the one I had here, so I had something to remember home by.”

“And?”, Mark asks.

“Well it wasn’t the same, so I quit. And then got another job at a different place, then quit that. Again, and again till I just gave up working at a pizzeria.” Mark snorts and Yukhei raises a brow, “What?”

“It’s not surprising that you quit, you don’t try hard to save what you can’t figure out.”

“Are you trying to say something right now?”

“Do you think I’m trying to tell you something right now?”, Mark grabs another slice and shifts in his seat more comfortably.

Yukhei ignores the sarcasm and continues, “Anyway, my roommates were nice. You already know Ten and Hendery.. then there was Sicheng and Kun. They were all a bit unpredictable, but I can’t say I hated it. Once Hendery and Ten dared themselves to eat the Carolina Reaper—Obviously they were in a shit ton of pain after the 

first bite and Hendery was convinced he was going to die, so we had to stop, but it was funny to watch. Our groceries bill went up that week with the amount of milk and sugar I was sent out to buy.”

Mark’s eyes widened in shock, “Is he okay?”

“Oh, yeah. That was probably the worst thing they did besides almost landing in the hospital while trying to speed-ride a shopping kart in downtown traffic,” then maybe to reassure himself, he adds, “It’s fine.. I was just a little drunk, but they were watching me; the traffic past midnight is slower anyway.”

“Holy shit..”, Mark laughs. He laughed at something Yukhei said! He’s aware laughing at him and at something he said are different but can’t help to feel elated at the sight of the younger probably imagining how it went down. 

“Yeah, one of my more eventful nights. Stopped drinking as much with them around that.”

“Definitely think them letting you pull off something like that while drunk was their fault though.”

He shakes his head, “I.. might have lied to them and told them I wasn’t actually drunk.”

Mark hums and swirls the soda in his glass with a straw. “You’d never called to tell me any of that.”

Yukhei stares at a light fixture to avoid eye contact, suddenly uncomfortable in his seat next to Mark, “I mean, I can’t just go back and tell you.” 

“You could’ve texted me.”

“I do—”

Mark hops off his seat and nods, “We can drop it. I’ll finish closing.. so, night Yukhei.”

"Just—Come on, sure I missed some stories, but we tell each other everything!"

“No,” Mark grits his teeth, “we _used_ to tell each other everything. You haven’t told me anything in years.”

“Mark, that’s not how it was.”

“Wasn’t it?”

“I’m—Can we talk about this now?”

“What does ‘this’ consist of?”, Mark folds his arms.

“ _This!_ We’re talking, then we aren’t, we’re hanging out then we’re not. You can tolerate me then you can’t,” Yukhei sputters, voice cracking without meaning to. “Can’t you hear me out?” 

“It hurt. Having to hear your decision through that stupid fucking note instead of from you. Excuse me for having to adjust to your presence again.” 

“It wasn’t like that, you know that.”

“Apparently I didn’t.”, Mark pats down his apron once more, eyes glued to the floor, “I still don’t.”

“Is there something I can do? Can we start over— I’ll meet you here every morning like the summers.. before.”

“Some things should stay in the past,” Mark finally makes eye contact with the other.

“I miss you, Mark”

Mark sighs and positions himself back to folded arms, “I’m trying my best, okay? I know you want to think that coming back here is something that you can just fall back into, but it isn’t. We weren’t acquaintances that telling me in a _note_ would suffice, I—I didn’t hear from you even _once_. How do you think I felt?”

“I’m sorry, I know it just meant so much to you that we go to the same school, but I didn’t.. couldn’t do that!”

“Well in case you’re wondering, I’d rather you had broken my heart then than leaving like you did.” There’s a chilling silence that fills the room and Mark lets his arms drop from where they were resting, crossed. “It’s late.”

“That’s it?”, Yukhei inches closer, but Mark spins on his heels and doesn’t give as much as a nod before walking out.

. . . .

So maybe Yukhei was back to first base. Mark doesn’t comment on any of Yukhei’s remarks for the next week, doesn’t even indulge his pitches for new topping combinations. No, it’s clear Yukhei isn’t even in the playing field.

Yukhei begins coming to the pizzeria every day as soon as they’re supposed to open, except that he’s never bumped into Mark there once. Even when Yukhei thinks he can come in faster and opens at 10 instead of 11, somehow Mark is already inside, the same unamused look plastered on his face every time. 

“You know coming here earlier to avoid me doesn’t mean I’ll stop coming here”, Yukhei slips on his apron and sets a bag of flour on the countertop.

“I’m sure you’ll stop, I’m just waiting for the moment you do”, Mark replies with a frown.

“One conversation, promise. Over our lunch break, that’s more than enough. You can tell me where you’d like to go on from there and I’ll respect that.” Yukhei asks. Surely Mark talking to him right now means he’s open to hashing things out?

“One.” Mark cautions.

“Yeah, just one.” He hopes it’ll be one _of many_ , but he doesn’t push it further. Mark nods curtly, “Okay, one. Tomorrow.” 

A warm feeling nests itself in Yukhei’s chest, watching Mark as he positions himself at the cash register and begins taking the orders for the day.

  
  


“So what will you talk about then?”, Donghyuck asks, opening their third bottle of beer later that night.

Yukhei shrugs, “I’m sure Mark will come prepared with a few choice words of his own.”

Jaemin shakes his head, “This is your problem! You never come prepared! Does leaving a note announcing your plans the week you were leaving not ring a bell?” He knocks on Yukhei’s head and looks toward Donghyuck.

Donghyuck giggles and mouths ‘Empty’. Yukhei swats away the others’ hand and sighs, “I just think I should hear him out.. If I come with something prepared I’ll be too worried to get what I want to say in that he might think I don’t care. Again.”

Jaemin coos and Donghyuck nods, processing before he points the bottle of beer at him, “You know, you sound like the two of you are together already, I already 

hear enough about fights like this from Jaemin.”

“It was ONE time!”, Jaemin narrows his eyes at Donghyuck. He shrugs back and continues, “Well, whatever it is that happens in those types of conversation always seems to work, so I won’t stop you.”

Donghyuck ignores him,“ I don’t think that’s what you should do, anyway. Your life is not a movie and Mark is definitely going to want you to explain.”

Yukhei nods, taking in his friends’ advice as he sips the remainder of his beer slowly.

“Now, Chug contest?”, Donghyuck passes around three new bottles, along with red cups.

. . . . 

Mark marches to Yukhei and hands him the day’s itinerary the moment he’s walked past the double doors of the kitchen. He quickly skims it and pushes it back in Mark’s hands, “Are you going somewhere?”

“I think we should call for a rain check on your feelings circle. I’m going to take the day off,” he sighs, “I would’ve had Yeri take my shift but it’s too last minute, sorry.”

Yukhei tries to read the expression on Marks’ face to no avail, “Mm.”

Mark waves and makes a beeline for the back door the moment Yukhei agrees. It’s unlike Mark to not want to hash all the ins and outs of a problem, but for now, Yukhei doesn’t linger on it a moment longer, shifting his attention back to the trainee who’s burnt their 3rd try at a pizza in a row.

As he clocks out, his phone vibrates with a text from Mark. 

**Mark.**

Xiaojun and I broke up.

It was a while ago.

He squints his eyes and refreshes the app to make sure the text was real, that Mark wasn't going to send a "wrong person" at any moment. He couldn’t figure out why Mark was telling him this. It was the first time he'd sent a non-work-related text. He immediately switches to his conversation with Jaemin, asking if he’d known.

**Yukhei.**

I'm sorry.. if it makes you feel better, you deserve better anyway.

**Mark.**

It doesn't.

but thanks.

Jaemin meets him by the doors as he walks out, While Yukhei’s eyes are glued to his phone, wishing a response would form in his mind, Jaemin meets him by the doors out front, ready to help. 

"He obviously wants your support—", Jaemin hops to his side, then, "it’s weird he didn't text Jeno until after you’d told me about it, otherwise this wouldn’t have been news to me."

"He didn’t tell Jeno first?"

"Nope, I'd have already been there if he had.”

Jenos’ been at Mark’s for some time, but since he hadn’t brought anything to cheer Mark up, Jaemin drags Yukhei to the nearest grocery mart to get comfort foods for Mark to enjoy. 

They cruise around the mart leisurely, making sure to pick up only his favorite foods and candies. He passes through the fresh fruits, scanning the section for any watermelons. 

When they used to live closer, Mark and Yukhei’s parents would go grocery shopping together at the end of every week, taking the two of them along. As long as they had one another by their sides, there wasn’t a single place they didn’t enjoy roaming. Mark and Yukhei took it upon themselves to search for the juiciest watermelon on every trip, slapping each one they’d pass to test it like Mark’s dad had taught them.

Overambitious, they had tried to carry a watermelon they were _sure_ was the juiciest to the nearest kart—and they would’ve made it too, had they not been two scrawny seven-year old’s bickering about who was holding more of the weight instead of focusing on carrying the melon. It fell onto the floor with a loud thud, and their expertise (or lack thereof) in melon picking became clear when it quickly cracked open. The cracked watermelon that was paid for had to be lugged back home in its own plastic bag. 

Even so, eventually through enough grocery mart trips and watermelon slaps, they had perfected picking out the best melon.

It’s also how Yukhei picked the one he’d placed in the kart now.

“Markie~ We’re here! And we’ve brought food”, Jaemin enters the apartment with ease, placing the groceries onto his counter and motions for Yukhei to enter the room first. 

Mark doesn’t look half as shitty as he’d expect for someone who’d just gone through a breakup, but he supposes it’s because Jeno did as much as cheering up he could before they came by. He slowly shuts the door, and exchanges in a hushed argument with Jaemin before pushing him into the room. 

Once he’s shut the door behind him, Yukhei works on preparing some food. The place is new to Yukhei, and it takes him a few moments to adjust to the stark difference Mark’s apartment has from his house. Instead of lazily tossed comic books and a mess of jumbled wires he’d call his gaming console, the place is furnished with a bookshelf showcasing all his comics and other collectables, and all the wires are wrapped with rubber bands to reduce the clutter. He doesn’t spot any of the figurines he remembers Mark had loved receiving, not even the one Yukhei had spent half a years’ worth of allowance to buy for the younger’s birthday.

Yukhei lets Jaemin handle the talking with Mark, texting him when the food is prepared, and they can come out to eat. He hears a muffled argument through the walls, but Jaemin comes out with a wide grin that fails to hint at anything.

Mark has to consistently remind Jaemin he’s not helpless when he’s trying to feed the other. He’s still picking at his food though, only finally taking a bite when 

Jaemin promises Yukhei would go buy them ice cream later. Jaemin believes Mark’s, ‘I’m fine’ but doesn’t leave until Jeno shows up as the sun finishes setting. 

Mark returns to his room sometime between Yukhei reassuring Jaemin he’d be just fine (it certainly couldn’t get any worse).

He steps out to grab the ice cream Mark had been promised, entering and moving silently through the apartment to scoop and serve the dessert once he’s returned. Two bowls in hand—one ice cream and the other with watermelon—he makes his way to push open the door to Mark's room until he freezes at the sounds of broken cries coming from behind it. He stands awkwardly, smile faltering at the sight of Mark’s body shaking as he tries to muffle his sobs and hold 

himself together, “Oh.”

Mark looks up and coughs weakly to clear out his throat, but his voice is still hoarse when he speaks, “Fuck, you’re—I didn’t hear you come back in, sorry.”

Yukhei shakes his head and slumps down beside him, “Honestly I was surprised you hadn’t cried earlier.. thought you became a robot or something.”

Mark laughs at that.

Yukhei doesn’t push him to talk further, but Mark takes in a heaving sigh and adjusts the blanket wrapped around him.

“I should’ve seen it coming, really.”

“Don’t say that, you guys made a nice couple.”

Mark denies it, “We weren’t a bad match, sure, but there’s a lot about him he never told me and refused to even if I’d brought it up. That and he did hang out with this other guy way too often.”

“..Did he cheat?”, Yukhei whispers.

Mark’s eyes go wide, “No! He’s not like that. I think he used to tell his friends more about his thoughts than me. Small things like that: forgetting a date, not visiting me at work unless it’s for food or not being allowed to surprise him at his if he was away at work.”

Yukhei knows it, has seen it while working too. Xiaojun rarely visits for anything but food and is always calling in unable to make it to dates last minute even when Mark takes off a day to set one up. Yeri has told him about a time she’d seen the two of them at Doyoung’s bakery and Xiaojun hadn’t as much as consulted Mark before ordering for the two of them and is sure he’s spent more effort when ordering a box of pizza when out with his friends.

So it would’ve been a lie if Yukhei said he didn’t already note the small things that made it hard for him to like him all that much, even with the few encounters he’d had with him—but he consoles Mark still, “He must have had a reason.”

Mark shakes his head, "I'm sure he could tell them to the person who's supposed to be one of the most important people in his life."

Yukhei nods solemnly, spotting a new expression on Mark’s face that he can’t discern. Anger? Frustration, or exhaustion maybe? Regret. Whatever it is eases off his face when Mark realizes Yukhei’s been staring at him a beat too long. He clears his throat and looks around, eyes landing on the table next to him, where a bowl of freshly cut watermelon and a fruit fork are placed from when Yukhei had first come in.

He takes a stab at the fruit, as if to make sure it won’t run away too and chews slowly.

Yukhei takes it as a queue to leave when he’s finished, grabbing his bag and heading out the door. Mark follows after him silently, opening the door. 

“Thank you”, Mark whispers gratefully, a small smile forming on his lips.

Yukhei’s expression mirrors Marks as he smiles back with a slight nod, “Goodnight, Mark.”

. . . . 

Ten lets Yukhei know on a facetime call that he’ll be stopping by Nevada for a conference on the weekend, and he’s bringing the others with him ‘Against my will’. 

“Kun has news for you, by the way,” he snickers. He can hear Kun’s voice cursing and coming closer to Ten, begging him to shut up. Yukhei waves at the other and raises a brow amusedly, “Should I be concerned?” 

“No, it’s not that big of a deal..”, Kun starts.

Ten makes kissing noises and sings, “Kun and –HEY! Don’t get all shy, he’ll see him next week anyway.”

Kun snatches the phone and smiles softly at the younger, “It’s been over 2 months, how have you been doing?”

Yukhei shrugs, “Well! I’m not really looking to settle into anything right away anyway, so it’s been good.”

Its Kun’s turn to be amused, “Oh? Does that mean progress?”

Yukhei shakes his head and falls back into the pillows on his bed.

“It’s not progress but we aren’t going backwards..?”, he plays around with the stuffed animal given to him by Jungwoo as a welcoming gift.

Kun hums understandingly, “Well, see if he wants to hang out with us this weekend. Could be a start.”

He hears Sicheng comment, “Or you guys would make it worse” followed by Ten throwing a pillow across the room at the other.

“Anyway, we’ll see you then! Be sure to have a bag packed.”

Once the call disconnects, Yukhei lets the others know too. 

**shitheads**

**Yukhei.**

Ten and the others are coming over this weekend. He said to pack a bag for the weekend, so be ready for anything ig.

**Renjun.**

TEN? You bet your ass I’m already ready.

**Jeno.**

Sounds fun! Jaem and I will get packing then.

**Donghyuck.**

The rest of your roommates too? Fucking finally ;D

Then there’s Mark. He dotes on sending him a message until Jaemin adds him into the existing chat after sending an ‘Don’t you think it’ll help clear his mind?’ 

**Mark.** Alright, I don’t see why not.

So, it’s settled.

. . . . 

Ten’s arrival was celebrated as largely as that of Yukhei’s, and even though Hendery and Sicheng couldn’t make it, Yukhei’s parents make all efforts in making them feel like they’re visiting through the facetime call. He’s finally introduced to Johnny Suh, the now-alum that Kun has had a crush on for just about as long as anyone can remember. 

“You guys are dating already?!”, Yukhei tries to keep his voice low, though it’s unlikely he’d be heard by the blaring music anyway. One would think with old age his parents would enjoy more mellow tones, but they’ve been blasting an array of increasingly loud pop songs since the night began.

Kun’s ears color a bright red, “No! I invited him as a _friend_.”

“Yeah, and inviting others on a trip across the country while visiting family is totally what _just_ friends do together.”

“Shut up!”, he’s more keen on Yukhei keeping his voice down now, sending the other a signal to quiet down when Johnny approaches.

  
  


After a night of celebrations (where it’s become painfully obvious to Yukhei that the way Kun and Johnny act around one another must’ve been himself and Mark.. 

before) they’re set to leave early in the morning for Las Vegas.

Breakfast leaves most of their wallets considerably lighter but freshening up at Ten’s hotel across the street of the Strip makes up for the hit. He even helped them book last minute rooms for themselves while he’s at his conference for the afternoon. Since it’s near enough to the Strip, they take their time in getting ready to explore the various shops and events just a hotel door outside from them. 

Johnny’s the only one with a license—there’s no point for one in a small town like theirs, or in a city like New York—so he’s the one driving them when they’ve changed course to go sightseeing at the Red Rock Canyon. He parks at every overlook, capturing pics of Kun, while Kun snaps away at the colorful canyon and scattered cacti. 

There’s nothing inherently romantic about looking at eroded rocks, but the way it has both couples (Yukhei would not be fooled by Kun’s words that try to convince him otherwise) excited makes him consider it again—He still comes up blank.

Even alone, there’s a calming energy created by the vast Canyon that stretches as far as his eyes take him. When they’ve reached a place to park for longer, Yukhei ventures down a trail, followed closely by others. They hold hands like a group of preschoolers with walking-ropes, only separating when they’ve come across an open space for more photos, and then back to holding hands. He keeps a noticeable distance from Mark but can’t help to steal glances, watching as Mark’s eyes light up at the glow spreading across the Canyon from the rays of sunlight hitting the colored rocks.

Mark returns a small smile when he’s caught staring, snapping a picture of him with a similar expression (but what Jaemin won’t let Yukhei forget is how the momentary loss in focus led him to trip over a rock, dragging the others with him).

After taking enough photos to fill an album book, they journey back to pick Ten up. He’s already waiting in his room watching a rerun of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air when they come in but spares no time to begin bugging the others to hurriedly freshen up so they can ‘Really get this started!’

They take a detour to the ‘Welcome to the Fabulous Las Vegas’ sign, where it hits Yukhei of the number of promises that had been made (and consequently broken) under this same sign. A promise to stop eating all of Mark’s favorite candies on Halloween, to stick to the 25$ budget on Christmas, or the one to crash as many 

UNLV parties possible during recruitment week.

“I’d forgotten about those,” Mark muses meekly when Yukhei mentions it, “It never stopped you from going over budget or taking my candy anyway.”

Bar Hopping must be a new addition to Ten’s long list of hobbies and pastimes; They’ve stopped at 5 in the past 3 hours. The sun is setting, hues of a beautiful pink and purple painting themselves across the clear sky, a sweet farewell making way for newly visible stars and the moon.

“We still have more to go, this is just the start! How else will we explore the Strip if not by determining which bar here is the best?”, Ten pulls Renjun to his side, “Right?”

He nods, surprisingly equally as eager to move onto the next place.

“All this walking from one place to the next will never get me even buzzed,” Kun sighs.

“Get Johnny to carry you then, maybe you’ll start feeling something,” Ten retorts. It seems to shut him up, and he doesn’t waste a moment to hold the door open to pull him out and back onto the street.

Jeno impatiently presses on the crosswalk push-button, huffing in annoyance and returning by Jaemin’s side when it doesn’t immediately put a halt to the traffic. 

Yukhei realizes it’s their first time drinking with Ten, so the others are probably already at least a little more than buzzed from their first few stops unlike himself.

They cross the street just in time for the Fountain show that plays melodic tunes on their way to the viewing of the Mirage’s Volcano and Garden.

Mark marches over to Yukhei after a silent argument with Ten, words dragging in his speech, “You know. We have our own Paris, Venice—Hell! We even have our own New York City Yukhei,” he points over at the building where flashing lights surround a blinking ‘New York, New York’ to their right, “Why did you want to leave?”

“You know those aren’t real.. right?” Yukhei sighs. No matter how many times he’d imagined the conversation, it hadn’t played out like this even once. Whatever 

traces of intoxication were left in Mark’s system seem to drain at the statement, sobering him.

“But they are! Sure, they aren’t the same—but they’re here, and real. We’re real too, right—Or was that not enough either?”, Mark chokes on the last part, eyes looking especially sad as he tries his hardest to keep his tears from escaping .

Yukhei finds himself suddenly steadying Mark, hands on his shoulders, “Of course it was real.. it was enough—you were enough. None of this was supposed to work out like this.”

It sounds like he’s trying to convince himself.

Mark looks up, searching for the truth in Yukhei’s eyes. “How was it supposed to work out?”

The light from the crosswalk switches to the flashing pedestrian, and a wave of people make their way through the street to reach their own destinations.

“I couldn’t face you after the whole.. thing. After letting you down from the start and pushing off my decision.”

“I would’ve understood. You had ended up letting me down anyway.”

Yukhei nods, head hanging low. “I know.”

“Mm. I know too. We can start with your roommates again—I’d like to hear all about it, seriously.” Mark points at the LED lights that have begun counting down from 15, pulling Yukhei down the crosswalk hurriedly before he can give a response.

Yukhei nods when they’ve reached the other side, keeping their hands held together. There’s a bounce to Mark’s steps as he strings the other along to watch the late-night display that’s beginning soon.

Mark and Yukhei first meet outside on the schoolyard's playground. They were six years old, and both the new and only transfer students in the 1st grade, though Mark seemed to be a lot more well-adjusted than Yukhei, who hadn’t made any friends even by the end of their first quarter. Yukhei would much rather spend time alone, unbothered by the lack of interest anyone had in him during recess instead of chasing around girls he’d like. In fact, he’s sure there’s not a single person interesting enough for him to put down his comics for.

Mark was running around playing soccer with the other boys when the ball was kicked in the wrong direction, rolling to a stop near the boy with a comic. He’s unfazed by the ball that landed next to him from a student’s attempt at a punt.

He rolls the ball back as he does every time it lands near him for the period and returns to his reading until he's tapped on the shoulder by a boy he recognizes as the other transfer student. It takes him a moment before he's realized Mark is asking him something. "Hello? Would you mind passing us the ball back.. again?", he waves his hands at the boy, and it's only then that he actually looks up. He points at the ball, and Mark nods, “Thanks!”

He nods with a warm smile while Mark returns to take down the opposing team. Yukhei continues his issue of a comic from a collection that should've been packed away in some box in the attic with the rest of his father’s childhood belongings.

A few moments later, he feels another tap on his arm, finding at the end of it stands the same boy he had just handed the ball. He extends his hand with a beaming smile plastered on his face, "Hi, I'm Mark. Can I read with you?"

Hesitantly, he closes the book confused by the boy who scrunches his nose as he marks his position (he had creased the page, a habit he'd come to find out that Mark hates. Of course, he still does it, hearing Mark’s voice tell him ‘it’s disrespectful!’ in the back of his mind every time). He timidly looks up and brings his hand to shake the other's hand, "Mhm. I'm Yukhei". 

Yukhei isn't sure if he wants to be friends. Mark, however, seems to be determined to leave the first grade with a new one.

"What are you reading?", Mark invites himself next to Yukhei, scooting up to get a look at the book tucked between Yukhei's arms.

Surprised, Yukhei pulls it out and waits for the reaction that normally follows from his teachers, "You're still reading comics? Aren't you a little too old for that now?"

Instead, Mark's eyes shine as he takes the book in his hands, "No way! Do you have all of them?"

Yukhei nods, trying to grab the book back, "It's my dads."

Mark pouts, "Just a peek? I wanna read it too! My legs hurt from playing soccer."

He sighs, agreeing to the boy's wish reluctantly and letting him open it.

"Really? Jeno is going to be so jealous of you!", he nudges his shoulder. "He was looking for these everywhere—you can't tell him you have this otherwise he'll try to finish before me", Mark holds out his hands and sticks out his pinky, "Promise?"

Yukhei giggles and Mark repeats himself, "Come on, we're friends now right? You have to promise me!"

"Promise," he repeats, like it’s more than a silly secret to hide from one of Mark’s friends. Mark beams, smile and eyes sparkling brighter than Yukhei had thought possible for a person. Yukhei thinks that Mark must be alright.

Mark gives Yukhei a smile, the same as he did all those years ago under the rusted slides and wobbly stairs of the playground. 

Yukhei tries to put a pin on his feelings—relief—and lets out a contented breath. 

Mark finds a sensation of warmth swelling his chest—save for the heat coming from the fire display in front of them—and finds himself wanting to give a chance to trust again.

. . . .

It’s a slow, simple shift in the way they do things. Mark waits for Yukhei to arrive before opening, he lets him have his few minutes extra of break (spending them with him too), sings along to the lyrics of the mainstream overplayed radio station that plays while they close.

Mark is less defensive, too. Something that Yukhei sees that no one but he could have given himself such freedom. He’s welcome to the idea of hanging out after work instead of the usual excuses or harsh rejections. Instead of a curt nod and goodbye there’s an, “I’ll see you tomorrow!” without a single doubt that he would in fact see Yukhei the next day, and the next, and one after that.

He hears the clattering of pots, snapping him back to reality where Yeri shrieks as she struggles to save the falling supplies.

Mark rushes up to her, lifting a few of the trays. Yeri shoots an apologetic look to the both of them, kneeling to help Mark contain the mess.

Mark pats his apron to rid it of any dust, and Yukhei follows him to a T though he’s done none of the work. He lets out a disappointed ‘tsk’ in an attempt to mask his laughter, “Since we’re done training, I actually have something I think you’d like to see.”

His curiosity piqued, Yukhei inches closer, only to get pushed back by Mark’s fingers, “Mm?”

“Wh—At home, it won’t be a surprise if I tell you”, he’s already pulling him along. Yukhei doesn’t think he’ll ever be able to mask the blush that follows.

He leaves Yeri and the others to close, reminding them of his expectations when closing until Yeri pushes him out the front, ‘We aren’t babies, Mark!’

Instead of Mark’s apartment, he takes them to his parents’ home.

“Mark, you do know you don’t live here anymore, right?”, Yukhei cautions, still unsure about where they stand. It isn’t like he hasn’t already met his parents, but it seems a bit futile when nothing’s happened.

“No duh, look”, Mark rolls his eyes, pointing to the garage. He pulls it up and claps his hands from joy, “So?”

He uncovers the jet-black car with a red leather interior and stands beside it.

Yukhei’s hands graze over the sleek ’64 Mustang, gaping at the pristine condition of the car, “Shit, you still have Panther?”

“It’s only been three years—and you know Dad takes care of it like it’s a child,” Mark titters.

“Do you still ride around town with her? ,” He asks, peeking through the windows to marvel at the interior. From the looks of it, he’d say he doesn’t.

“..No, but everyone else does,” Mark looks through the window across where Yukhei is standing, “I don’t do much driving anymore.. stopped after you left ‘cause I didn’t have any need to travel town in a car when I had a bike.”

Yukhei looks up at him and purses his lips for a moment, pronouncing the dimples in his cheeks, “Huh. Ok let’s go somewhere.”

Mark sputters, “What?”

“Let’s take her out for a spin,” Yukhei suggests nonchalantly, “You said it yourself, you didn’t ride it much after I left so let’s ride it, let’s go somewhere.”

“Us?”

“Yeah.. us, right now”, Yukhei taps the top of the car, “It’s not going to drive itself.”

“I really hope you're kidding right now.”

“Not in the slightest”, He motions to Mark for the keys, who begrudgingly tosses him the key and plops into the passenger seat.

“Okay, where to?”, Mark asks.

“You’ll see,” Yukhei sings.

He removes the top to expose the rest of the car's interior in all its glory, then plops into the driver’s seat and starts the engine. No amount of bickering helps them settle on a radio station, so they’re stuck listening to ‘LV Top Hits!’ until Yukhei surrenders and lets Mark pick their music for the ride. They stop to stock up on food and drinks, but even the concerned look on Mark’s face doesn’t get Yukhei to give up more than the duration. He holds up 6 fingers and chuckles at the dumbstruck expression on Mark's face at the revelation.

The ride goes smoothly, all things considered. They start with the music blaring as they whizz past the picturesque mountains and desert, singing along to the radio off-key and leaving their arms hanging out the sides freely. They’re out of the town fairly quick, sharing snacks and more missed stories over the music.

The long winding roads remind him of when Mark had just gotten his license. He had been dropped off back home while his mom returned to work, excitedly rapping at the door where Yukhei was. He had come in to study for their upcoming finals, but when he arrived, Mark’s dad let him in and told him Mark was going to be late. He pulls open the door, his senses trying hard to comprehend the scene in front of him. His eyes focus on Mark’s growing smile, then at the paper he’s waving around, “What are you waiting for?! Let’s go somewhere already!”

He tugs at Yukhei’s sleeves, excitement reaching his eyes as he blabs about the places they’ll see and the things they can do now! When Yukhei finally processes it, he mimics his excitement and follows behind him closely, gushing over the slip that’s opened them to a new world of late night drives and a first taste of 

adulthood.

Mark started the car, adjusting the seat as Yukhei pulled out a map to pinpoint their destination. They were determined to go out as far as their car could take them. Granted, at 17 years old with little to no sense of direction outside of their town, they don’t go far. They stop atop an overlook and watch the sun set, hues of pink and orange blanketing the sky as the city wakes up, bright lights dance and glow under them as the day has just begun for everyone in the city.

“Stop looking at me like that,” Mark mumbles bashfully.

“Looking at you like what?”, Yukhei chuckles, turning his attention back to the road ahead of them.

“You know! Like that!”, Mark makes a failed attempt to imitate the others' expression and groans, turning to the window and staring at the canyon instead, “Just keep driving.”

The clear sky leaves the sun beating at them mercilessly from above, but neither of them seem to notice. From the side view mirror, Yukhei catches a glimpse of Mark and watches the corners of his eyes crinkle and a small smile settles on his face as he takes in the landscape. 

Mark thinks it's a mistake when Yukhei finally places the gear in park. They must have run out of gas or Yukhei had gotten hungry again, because there was nothing of significance that Mark could locate as he looked all around him. Ahead of them there were little homes and stores, much like their part of town, apart from it being even farther from the city. He warily turns to face Yukhei and asks, “Oh my god, did you bring me out here to kill me?”

The tender smile on Yukhei’s face falters, and his ears turn a bright red from embarrassment as he splutters an explanation, “What? No!—No.. I wanted to show you something too.”

Mark’s laughter echoes loudly on the empty lot, “I was joking! What is it?” Yukhei rolls his eyes and gets out of the car, Mark trailing behind. The sun has become less harsh by mid-noon, but Mark still reapplies a ridiculous amount of sunscreen before passing it to Yukhei.

They finally reach a park and Yukhei grabs Mark’s hand, placing a lock in it. Puzzled, Mark looks around, “Shouldn’t you be giving me a key?”

“Nope,” he leads him further into the park, where hundreds of locks are attached onto the chains all around a small gazebo. Yukhei unlocks the lock in Mark's hand and back at the chains.

Mark’s gaze is fixed on Yukhei, who sheepishly admits, “I know it’s not a lot, but I want to be there when you graduate.. and I want you to be there for mine.”, he regrets not having written it down like Ten had suggested before he’d left, “Obviously, it’s not the only reason—And I’m willing to take it at your pace.. because I know it must’ve been frustrating to watch me take this long to realize it, but I’m sure of it now. I love you, Mark.”

Mark’s thumb brushes over the empty label on the lock. He grabs a sharpie pen lying on the gazebo, scribbling something on it—quickly shoving it back into Yukhei’s hands—and pulls him down to plant a timid kiss on Yukhei’s lips. He holds his breath and waits for Mark to pull away, a loving smile reaching his eyes, “I love you too.”

He grabs the other’s hand and guides it to an empty space on the chains, hands hovering over Yukheis’, seeking permission. Yukhei pushes down, clicking the lock  in place, and awing at where a ‘M.L. + Y.W.’ is inscribed in Mark’s handwriting. 

A deep red color is sent straight up the apples of his cheeks, one he tries to unsuccessfully hide by patting his cold hands against his face. Mark brings his hands up to sandwich Yukhei’s face on both sides, an airy laugh escaping his lips. 

This time, he was sure they would be alright.

**Author's Note:**

> check out the art by the talented bwa [here](https://twitter.com/ciracelin/status/1336943663323090945?s=20), and then leave me some kudos n comments if you enjoyed ♡♡
> 
> a final thanks to all the writers i beta-d for and artists i met, you all are such lovely people who are just OOZING with talent and i just hope some day i'll be as amazing as the rest of you.


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